2020 Political Chatter

[Saab2000]

I actually drank less vino than usual last night, so I've got that going for me. And it's a nice day here in Chicagoland, so result be damned, I'm going for a ride.

[Lionel]

It just keeps on amazing me how the US electoral system is such a shit show. What a shameful showing of democracy.

[Saab2000]

It just keeps on amazing me how the US electoral system is such a shit show. What a shameful showing of democracy.

The Electoral College has definitely outlived its original purpose. The issue is that with so many regressive "Originalists" the EC is unlikely to be removed from the process anytime soon. I have no qualms in saying it needs to go.

In 2020 the nation is unrecognizable from its founding and the purpose was to give less populous states meaningful weight. Today the world is a smaller place with infinite information available immediately and nationwide travel an affordable reality. Time for the relic known as the electoral college to go.

[Lionel]

The Electoral College has definitely outlived its original purpose. The issue is that with so many regressive "Originalists" the EC is unlikely to be removed from the process anytime soon. I have no qualms in saying it needs to go.

In 2020 the nation is unrecognizable from its founding and the purpose was to give less populous states meaningful weight. Today the world is a smaller place with infinite information available immediately and nationwide travel an affordable reality. Time for the relic known as the electoral college to go.

Yep, word. The next step with legal BS all around is going to be another shameful phase. Today I would not mind giving up my US passport !

[deano]

Hot take: the electoral college is good, actually. Another way to slice it: should a presidential candidate have to make an appeal to anyone who lives outside of California and the eastern seaboard from VA to MA? There are other people in this country than that.

[Saab2000]

Hot take: the electoral college is good, actually. Another way to slice it: should a presidential candidate have to make an appeal to anyone who lives outside of California and the eastern seaboard from VA to MA? There are other people in this country than that.

I've heard this justification and it probably held true at one point. But in 2020 with instant information and a transportation system that allows for rapid interstate commerce it's not the same place it was in 1787.

The idea that we can have presidents who don't win the popular vote isn't right. It's happened twice in the past 20 years and very possibly it will happen again.

[Lionel]

Maybe because I was born and raised in France with "Liberty Equality Fraternity" I strongly believe that each citizen should be equal regardless of where they live and that 1vote=1vote. The electoral college always felt completely counter intuitive to me. You can live in the middle of nowhere in CA or OR as well.

[monadnocky]

Hot take: the electoral college is good, actually. Another way to slice it: should a presidential candidate have to make an appeal to anyone who lives outside of California and the eastern seaboard from VA to MA? There are other people in this country than that.

But if you flip the logic, the counterargument stands, yeah? In that those areas are where most of the people in the country live? Either way, you have a system where the votes of tens of millions of people don't really matter. So why not just switch to a popular vote? I mean, at least we won't have to listen to candidates go on and on and on about the importance of ethanol subsidies every four years.

[rwsaunders]

I’m just beyond mystified that someone who is one of the most vile human beings to have ever walked the planet, was elected to be President in the first place and remains in the running to continue to hold the office.

[Chik]

I’m just beyond mystified that someone who is one of the most vile human beings to have ever walked the planet, was elected to be President in the first place and remains in the running to continue to hold the office.

In other words, 2016 wasn't an accident.
*shudder*

[johnmdesigner]

Wisdom of a NY Republican.

At the Metropolitan Republican Club, the club's president Ian Reilly said he was feeling very confident. "I think just like in 2016, you can't believe whatever the polls are," he said. "It'll be tight I believe, but I think President Trump is going to pull it out."
Asked why he thought Trump deserved another four years in office, Reilly said, "For me as a gay Republican, it's very important he started and launched a campaign to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe, and that he appointed about five openly gay Republicans as ambassadors," he said. "I love what he's been able to do with the economy, bringing back jobs to the United States, especially manufacturing...and going forward, I think especially in New York, safety is going to be a huge issue. He's the law and order candidate, he's not 'defund the police,' he always defends them."

[echappist]

I’m just beyond mystified that someone who is one of the most vile human beings to have ever walked the planet, was elected to be President in the first place and remains in the running to continue to hold the office.

I'm more mystified by the ~600k lead the incumbent has in PA (as of ~10 a.m. EST). The state is turning ever more Pennsyltucky...

We were living there just last year, and some of the former GOP strongholds in the Philly suburbs no longer are, but a lot of the areas with blue collar support for the Democrats have really shifted toward the GOP. Erie is probably the poster child there, and one wonders how much effect the closure of GE plants had in that swing...

[j44ke]

Wisdom of a NY Republican.

At the Metropolitan Republican Club, the club's president Ian Reilly said he was feeling very confident. "I think just like in 2016, you can't believe whatever the polls are," he said. "It'll be tight I believe, but I think President Trump is going to pull it out."
Asked why he thought Trump deserved another four years in office, Reilly said, "For me as a gay Republican, it's very important he started and launched a campaign to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe, and that he appointed about five openly gay Republicans as ambassadors," he said. "I love what he's been able to do with the economy, bringing back jobs to the United States, especially manufacturing...and going forward, I think especially in New York, safety is going to be a huge issue. He's the law and order candidate, he's not 'defund the police,' he always defends them."

Interesting.

I changed my mind. I am done analyzing things from here on out.

[sine]

I'm more mystified by the ~600k lead the incumbent has in PA (as of ~10 a.m. EST). The state is turning ever more Pennsyltucky...

PA started counting yesterday. Current results reflect same day votes and a good number of early/absentee ballots. But there are a lot more early votes/absentee ballots that need to be counted.....should favor Biden.

For example, NC was different. NC was counting early/absentee all along and come election day uploaded the results. So early election results showed Biden leading (it appears early voters favored Biden in many parts of the USA) but as same day voting results came in, Trump closed and now currently leads. I think NC is waiting for ballots that were mailed late last week. NC could tighten up.

Overall, I think Biden is in a good position.

[Greg Costello]

Even if Biden pulls this out, British Columbia (among other foreign destinations) is looking pretty good. I don't know that I want to continue to live in a country where close to half its residents either like the sociopathetic qualities of Trump or are willing to overlook them for supposed positions that are make believe (or to vote against supposed make believe positions of the other guy). The failure to appreciate what Trump has done to our country, foreign and domestic, and what he will do if re-elected (among other things gut the civil service and turn it into a club of Trump sycophants, kill all chances of the USA getting climate change onto something other than a worst case trajectory, and further politicization of the Judiciary are just a few), well there aren't enough words to describe how I feel about this. If this is who/what America is, and given our systemic educational failures that allow such ignorance to not only exist but grow, then it may well be time to find another country that better reflects who I am.

There will be those who say that you need to stand and fight, but I've been fighting for a healthier, cleaner, more sustainable, more equitable country for 35 years and the needle has regressed by most measures. I'm coming round to the position that you can't fix stupid.

[caleb]

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[mjbabcock]

From the sound of things, your frustration approximates the life experiences of BOPOCs across the country.

Me, I’m as close to BC as I can get without crossing the border. They have their own baggage, but are a better democracy than us. I think Squamish or Christchurch are where it’s at...or France.

[holliscx]

One point I don't think a lot of people understand is, half the country isn't so much voting for Trump but rather voting against Biden which is the American political circus in a nutshell.

[Saab2000]

One point I don't think a lot of people understand is, half the country isn't so much voting for Trump but rather voting against Biden which is the American political circus in a nutshell.

Two points...

1. Voting against a candidate isn’t unique to the US. That’s universal I think.
2. Joe Biden may not be loved but the grumbling against him is far less toxic than Hillary inspired. People definitely voted against her.

[echappist]

Maybe because I was born and raised in France with "Liberty Equality Fraternity" I strongly believe that each citizen should be equal regardless of where they live and that 1vote=1vote. The electoral college always felt completely counter intuitive to me. You can live in the middle of nowhere in CA or OR as well.

The Electoral College was not an idea that originated with the American Founders. Rather, it traces its roots to the Holy Roman Empire, where the head of various duchies, counties, and kingdoms that constitute the Empire serving as an elector for the Holy Roman Emperor.

Basically, think the ending of the screen adaption of Game of Thrones. The six people who chose the King of the Six Kingdoms are basically electors akin to the electors constituting the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire.